The present invention relates to a method for producing whey proteins in nanoparticulated form and to the nanoparticulated whey proteins thus obtained. Specifically, the present invention pertains to the use of these nanoparticulated whey proteins as emulsifiers, fat substitute, micellar casein substitute, whitening, foaming, texturizing and/or filling agents.
Fat containing food material makes up a considerable proportion of the diets of many people. One of the problems encountered with the production of such products resides in that the fat must remain stabilized over the entire shelf life of the product, so that no phase separation occurs.
To this end, emulsifying agents are utilized, that provide a stabilization of the emulsion once formed, based on their inherent property of a lipophilic or hydrophobic part; respectively; being soluble in the non-aqueous phase and a polar or hydrophilic part being soluble in water such that said molecules are facilitate emulsifying one phase in the other phase. Additionally, the emulsifying agents also protect the once formed droplets from aggregation and coalescence. As emulsifying agents naturally occurring substances are used, such as hydrocolloids, phospholipids (lecithin) or glycolipids and on the other hand synthetic agents like stearyl-2-lactylate or mono-, diacylglycerides, etc.
One of the major drawbacks of the agents resides in that these agents sometimes substantially add to the costs of the final product, and do not add to the nutritional value of the product. Sometimes, such kinds of materials also do not show adequate stabilizing properties because of an interfacial competition with proteins. This, there is a need for alternatives to existing emulsifiers that do not show the inherent disadvantages and are readily available. The present invention now satisfies this need.